Nicholas Fontana, a Tucson criminal defense attorney who will replace former Rep. Daniel Patterson in the Arizona House of Representatives, said he switched his life-long Democratic affiliation to independent, just so he would qualify for the seat.

Last week, Daniel Patterson ditched his Democratic Party affiliation and registered as an independent, decrying partisan politics at the Capitol.

But at some point yesterday, Patterson re-registered as a Democrat, the Pima County Recorders Office confirmed. The Pima County Democratic chairman said Patterson told him he did it before he resigned, a move that thrusts the appointment process for Patterson’s former legislative seat into uncharted territory.

Rep. Daniel Patterson today demanded that the House Ethics Committee give him an opportunity to testify before its members, cross-examine his accusers and address each incident of impropriety anonymously claimed against him.

Patterson said the ethics charges against him result from a group of lobbyists and lawmakers who sought a reason to have him kicked out of office, and one civil rights activist even said the Tucson lawmaker is being treated unfairly because he is white.

Rep. Daniel Patterson, the Tucson lawmaker facing ethics charges and possible expulsion from the House of Representatives, today maintained his innocence and said a scathing ethics report against him was politically motivated.